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Three-time Grey Cup champion Ricky Ray is expected to return as the Toronto Argonauts’ No. 1 quarterback, perhaps as early as next Monday’s match against the Ticats in Guelph, after a shoulder injury suffered in August. Ray was deemed healthy enough to suit up as the third-string quarterback behind starter Zach Collaros on Friday in a 33-19 loss to Hamilton. While Ray spent two to three hours a day on rehab, strengthening exercises and cardio work, he recently took time out to talk to the Star about his innermost feelings in an edited telephone chat. Ray, 33, and wife, Allyson, 35, have a 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Chloe.

What is your greatest fear?

I do have a fear of heights. I can climb a ladder or get in a tree, but anything over 20 feet, I don’t want anything to do with. We went ziplining one time in Mexico and your last thing, you had to repel 50 feet down off the thing. It was difficult for me do, but I was able to it. I can fly. I can do that stuff. But I couldn’t see myself trying to rock climb or bungee jump or anything like that.

What is the trait you most admire in yourself?

Man, people have told me that I’m pretty humble. It’s probably why I can stay so focused and always continue to work. I never think I’m good enough. I’m always focused on trying to be better. Never been satisfied, I guess. I don’t know where that comes from, but it’s been something that’s been a part of my life, especially with football.

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Even after your Grey Cup victory?

You realize what it is and you enjoy it. But when I really started to think about it in the off-season, you know, maybe I don’t enjoy moments well enough, you know what I mean? That’s probably the negative to that. Really, I just look at it, hey, we were able to win it but let’s move on and let’s work toward it again. That’s what keeps me motivated.

Does that translate into your keeping a low profile in the city and country?

Yeah, I don’t (like the celebrity spotlight). I’m just another guy. I’m out here and doing something, yeah, I’m pretty decent at, but I’m just as normal as the ordinary guy who goes to work from 9 to 5. I don’t look at myself as somebody who is better than anybody else or deserves special treatment.

Some other NFL QBs also share your humble attitude, like Eli Manning?

Oh, yeah. I mean (Eli’s brother) Peyton is pretty well known, but he seems pretty humble when he talks about himself. They seem like they always put the team first. They’re not doing touchdown dances and doing all this stuff to bring attention to themselves.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

I think it would be arrogant people, people that bring attention to themselves, that they think they’re better than other people. I think that’s what I’m most turned off of. I’ve obviously played a lot of football. This is my 11th year in the CFL, and I’ve seen a lot of guys come through the locker room, and the guys that kind of turn me off right away are the guys that come in expecting things or think they’re better than other people and want special treatment.

What is your greatest extravagance?

Louis Vuitton purses — and not for me, for my wife. She think she’s got to have Louis Vuitton, and that’s probably the extravagant thing that I’ve purchased in the past for anniversaries and birthdays. For myself, I’m trying to think what I do that’s really extravagant. And I really don’t.

Do you drive an expensive car?

We have a Chevy Tahoe, 2007. It’s worth now about $20,000. At the time we bought it new. I guess I could say that’s extravagant, but I don’t think most people would. The only other thing is maybe real estate. We have a condo here and a home back in Redding, Calif. That’s what I spend money on.

What besides football are you really good at?

Procrastinating (laughs). I’m a last-minute kind of guy. Little things in my life. If my wife says, ‘Hey, can you do this for me?’ I’ll wait until the end of the day. Other than that, I consider myself a jack of all trades, but master of none. There’s nothing I’m really good at it, but I’m good at most things. But not really good at anything.

Do you have strengths in the business world?

That’s what I got my degree in, business. Obviously, I have no experience other than a couple of months right out of school working for Frito Lay. But nothing I’m really good at.

What are you really lousy at?

I would say racquet sports. There’s a story when I was in Edmonton, Jason Maas, who I played quarterback with and he’s a coach here, we had some racquet ball courts and we would play with another guy on the team. One time we were out there playing and I was the worst one of the three of us. We get up there, and there’s this older lady who wanted to join and play doubles because there was only one court open. She had to be in her 60s. So it was me, the other guy and Jason Maas and the lady. And Maas told the lady, you just worry about taking care of Ricky, and she kept scoring points on me and I can never live that one down. The other thing I’m not good at is video games. Call Of Duty is really popular and my buddies were playing and I went over a few times and tried to play, but my kill rate was horrible. I have decent hand-to-eye co-ordination at other things, but when it comes to racquet sports and video games, I’m pretty lousy.

What about golf?

I’m okay at golf. I’m right around a 10-handicap, so I think most people would think that’s pretty decent for the weekend warrior out there.

Who are your heroes in real life?

Obviously my parents made a lot of sacrifices for me and I learned a lot from my father (Steve), who taught me a lot of things to help me get where I’m at professionally in football. I grew up as a 49ers fan, watching Steve Young and Joe Montana and Jerry Rice and those guys. I definitely idolized them growing up. I’d watch those guys on TV and try to emulate them.

What is your most treasured possession?

If my house burned down, what would I miss the most? I think it would be pictures and photo albums of memories and things that I’ve done. Obviously, the Grey Cup rings — I’ve got three — they bring back a lot of memories. I don’t have anything in my family that’s been passed down to me or anything like that. On a daily basis, it would probably be my golf clubs. I always have them in my car. You never know when you’re going to drive by a driving range or somebody is going to call you up to go golfing.

What is your greatest regret?

The ones that come to mind have to do with football. The first one is missing Chris Brazzell on a slant in the 2002 Grey Cup in Edmonton. He was wide open and I overthrew him. It would have been a for-sure touchdown. I think about that play a lot because it was close game and we ended up losing. And my other one was from last year. We won the Grey Cup, and one of the best things is just being in the locker room and having the Grey Cup in there and everybody is spraying champagne everywhere. I missed that last year. I was doing media on the field. By the time I had gotten into the locker room, pretty much everybody was gone. That’s one thing I regret. It’s not being in there and being in that celebration. I missed the boat there.

What’s your favourite quote?

“If a man has greatness in him, it comes to light, not in one flamboyant hour, but in the ledger of his daily work,” by Beryl Markham. And that’s just a quote that means a lot to me that I came across just on the Internet one day, and I think it’s important to do the little things every day. That can lead to greatness. It’s not because you get lucky one time, or you do one good thing one time. It’s about doing, you know, good little things all the time and being consistent — and I can relate that to my life.

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